VVA Chapter 1069 Meeting Report for: August 8-14-2019
[posted on: 8-15-2019]
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The meeting was held at Mikeska’s BBQ, (located on Hwy 59) El Campo, TX.
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The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was recited and a prayer was said.
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President, Frank Laitkep, then recognized all those members who were having birthdays in July.
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Frank then introduced guests and potential new members.
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The meeting was then recessed for the evening meal.
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Frank then re-opened the meeting open at 8:00 PM.
The following chapter business was transacted.
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Chris King Tribute - Leonard Sternadel, chapter Vice President, then gave a short
memorial tribute to recently deceased (7/23/2019) Chris King of East Bernard. Several photos of Chris were
displayed on the big projector screen as Leonard gave his presentation. See Chris' photo below.
Chris wasn't a chapter member, but was a big supporter of our chapter and especially the Vietnam veteran.
Chris was Wharton County Commissioner for Precinct 2. Some of the things Chris did for our chapter and
for all veterans in the Wharton County area included the following.
- He helped push through big improvements for the VSO (Veterans Service Officer) office in Wharton that included
the hiring of a new full time Service Officer. And he requested the help from our chapter in the hiring of that new
Service Officer. He was also responsible for getting additional office space and upgrading the computer systems in
the office. He also pushed through the hiring of an additional part time Service Officer. Today, the Wharton County
VSO Office is a top notch Veterans benefits office helping many veterans in Wharton County and the surrounding
Counties.
CLICK HERE for more information on the WC VSO
- In 2014 he purchased and donated a bunch of special Vietnam Veteran folding chairs for our trip to the TCVVM dedication
in Austin and even pre-arranged the seating for all our 30+ attending chapter members at the event.
CLICK HERE for more details
- In 2016 he donated a well known Vietnam war related, 'Reflections' painting to the chapter - it now hangs in the Mikeska banquet room.
CLICK HERE for more details
Many chapter members attended Chris' funeral. VVA Chapter 1069 would like to express its appreciation to the King family
for everything Chris did for our chapter, especially for being such a good friend and supporter of our chapter. We will
miss him - May he rest in peace. Use the link below to read Chris' obituary.
CLICK HERE to read Chris' Obituary
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2019 VVA Chapter 1069 Fundraiser Raffle Drawing!
It was then time for Leonard Sternadel, chapter VP and Raffle chairman, to conduct the 2019 Chapter Fundraiser
Raffle Drawing! The Fundraiser was kicked off in May and it was now time to Draw for the winners of the raffle.
The sample raffle ticket below lists all 13 items that were in the Raffle. Note that the raffle ticket drawing
followed the same order as the items are listed on the raffle ticket stub. You may also use the link below to
go to our webpage to see all the prizes that were in the Raffle.
CLICK HERE to View the Raffle Promotion Webpage
Above photo shows some of the chapter members tearing off the tickets and loading up the drum before the meeting
started. Other members and spouses not shown in the photo also helped with the ticket preparation. We had 2000
tickets printed up for this chapter fundraiser raffle. The chapter would like to thank all those who attended and
helped with this raffle drawing.
Above photo shows Sternadel at the podium announcing the start of the raffle drawing. Leonard had volunteered to
be the chairman for this year's chapter fundraiser raffle. He also wanted everyone to know that he was dedicating
the raffle to James Kulcak, a charter chapter member who passed away in November of 2016. James was chairman of
the chapter's only 2 other fundraiser raffles, one held in 2012 and one held in 2015.
The above photo shows James, during our 2015 fundraiser raffle, counting raffle ticket monies during a chapter
monthly meeting. James also ran the 2012 fundraiser raffle which gave our young VVA Chapter (we started the
chapter in 2012) the big monetary start-up boost that it needed. His raffles were well organized and he did an
outstanding job managing the raffles. James also donated many of the items in both raffles. Click on the link
below to visit James' memorial page on our chapter's website.
CLICK HERE to see James' Memorial
Since this raffle was dedicated to James, some of his family members were invited to the raffle drawing, including
James' daughter and son. The above photo shows the first ticket being pulled from the drum. Ironically, James'
daughter was the winning ticket pulled out of the drum! Some things you just can't explain.
The chapter officers and BOD members would like to thank all those that attended the meeting (see above photo).
It was a great turnout. The raffle drawing went off without a hitch and all 13 items were raffled off.
We want to thank all those members and spouses that helped with the raffle drawing.
We also want to thank all those members who donated items for the raffle; Robert & Dale Boone, Dave & Lynn Wagner,
Billy Orsak, Blas Ochoa, George McKelvy, and anyone who requested be anonymous. The chapter and its membership
appreciates your support!
We also want to thank all the El Campo area businesses and individuals that donated items for the raffle
- the chapter and its membership appreciates your support!
We also want to thank all our chapter members and spouses (and family members) that sold tickets! We know
some of you went way beyond our normal expectations for selling tickets.
But most importantly, the chapter and its entire membership want to thank all of you who purchased tickets
for this VVA Chapter 1069 fundraiser! This is the only way our chapter collects money to use for various
veteran related projects and events throughout the year. Your support of this local Vietnam Veterans chapter
is greatly appreciated!
And finally, a big Thank-You goes to Leonard Sternadel for organizing and managing a very successful
fundraiser raffle for our chapter - James Kulcak would be proud.
And also a big Thank-You to Dana Sternadel for all her help with the raffle. Not only did they run a
successfull raffle, but they spent an enormous amount of time and energy selling many, many tickets in
the final days of the raffle. In the final tally, almost all 2000 raffle tickets were sold - Outstanding!!
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Mike Harbaugh, Chapter member and Wharton County "VA Accredited" Veteran
Service Officer, gave his Veterans Benefits presentation.
He presented information regarding the following topic.
- Updated everyone on his recent personal experience with a VA authorized “Urgent Care” center.
- Talked about "VetTix", an organization that provides free tickets to active duty, veterans and their families, to different types of events.
CLICK HERE to visit the VetTix Website
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Chapter Windbreaker Jacket - More information was given out about those who may want to
order our official VVA green embroidered windbreaker jacket. Please contact any of the chapter officers if you wish
to purchase one of these jackets. Use the link below to see pictures of the jacket and to Print the two order forms
that are required to be filled out when ordering these windbreaker jackets.
CLICK HERE to see Pictures of the Jacket
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Our next chapter meeting will be Sept 11, 2019.
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